Well i started Accutane last monday....so that this the 8th day I would take a pill. No improvements so far, infact i think its worse I'll give a background of my situation. My acne ( only on the face) started in 6th grade when it was just puberty and all that fun stuff of being a girl. I had perfect skin in 10th and 11th grade before the end of high school when it was HORRIBLE!! It was all of the sudden...and it realllllly affected my emotions....im sure some of you can understand!! We'll I have been on every oral antibiotic and pretty much every topical...with no help really in the long run. I have done ClearLight ( dont do it , its a waste of $!! ) and smoothbeam...which i LOVED and made my skin wonderful again for about 8 months then right when i go back to college BAM its all back with a force. It's so hard to be what seems the only one on campus with a problem. Soooo I was put on accutane, and hope this works for good!!! So far I dont have chapped lips, my skin is a little dryer but still is oily, which is gross because its like half and half, and i swear i have pimples all equaly over my chin and cheeks now( it was mostly around the smile line area and chin/jaw before) . Mostly they are like smaller dry yet still there type that you want to get rid of but you can because ive read on here popping anything on accutane is much much worse! By the way it started ( my skin was nearly perfect until about 1 1/2 months ago ) when i started taking Ortho Tri-Cyclen LO , then my skin became horrible again! My dr switched me to just Otho Tri Cyclen and am half way done with my 1st month with that ... for a total of 1 1/2 months on BC.....so i have a feeling the birth control may have triggered the acne again, and know that it takes 2-3 months to regulate and adjust so i hope that happens soon! any girls have this problem with birth control??
My Daily Routine:
AM-
Wash: cetaphil gentle wash
Shampoo: Biotin infused shampoo and Neutragena Conditioner ( heard you can have a little hair loss, so i hope the Biotin helps!)
Birth Control ( Ortho Tri-Cyclen)
PM-
Wash w/ cetaphil , apply a little Nelsons Tea tree oil acne gel if i feel the need
Take accutane pill ( dose of 40mg for now) with dinner
Please respond! I'd love to share details/get stories from others on accutane!! Good luck to all!
i saw ur comment at mine.. well i'm crossing out banana from my diet cos it contains a high concentration of sugar and sugar will cause acne cos of some reaction with the hormones.. and bread, i think it's the same too.. some ppl also avoid dairy products like milk,but i'm sticking to it anyway.. my skin has improved a little since the lst pill, it's not oily anymore and some pimples i had b4 the medicine has cleared. but my pores certainly look bigger.. abt the depression stuff, well,it's not becos of acne but due to some other stuff, but acne has certainly made it worse.. it sucks.
the itchiness will last for maybe one more week.. when some of the whiteheads or junk in ur skin gets out and also,when ur skin gets used to the dryness,i think it'll be better. at least for me,it's the case.. cetaphil's great for the dryness.. are ur lips dry? get a lipbalm..mine is peeling like ****.. oh yeah,im only on a 20mg dose now, but hopefully it'll be increased tommorrow when i'll be seeing the derm again..(one mth's up) by the way, can i get the biotin shampoo at pharmacies? i've noticed some hair loss now.. =/
Thanks for responding! So far my lips are not dry, but i put lip balm and lip gloss on 24/7 so maybe thats why...i havent given them a chance to dry out! As far as my skin on my face goes though.......its like desert Mostly around the nose and mouth, and its itchy like crazy! I sure hope it last only a week more lol, but ill be using moisturizer a lot more than usual i have a feeling. I bought Biotin shamoo at my local health food store, but I have seen it at my grocery store too....I bought Jason Biotin Shampoo ( they have conditioner too) and I love it so far. I have a ton of hair and wasnt tooooo worried about it but i got it just in case!! Its not too expensive for a natural shampoo- i got it for 6.50. Also, has anyone had their acne spread while on accutane?? Mine was stricly on my cheeks/jaw area and chin....now i have some on my neck ( like 3-4 small spots) lol i dont want it there!!
Update day 9 *
Dry, Dry, Dryyy!! lol I was using a Beta scrub ( even my derm said ok to it on accutane ) but i think it started to irritate my skin so cetaphil is going to be all i use...even though it doesnt feel very ''cleansing'' so far...
No other side effects so far... im hoping the breakout i had about 2-3 days ago was my initial breakout and i got it early on! That seems to be drying up and hopefully will go away soon!
Initial breakout * hopefully it was * seems to be decreasing a bit. All the pimples i have are somewhat still there, but are dry on top and seem to be drying up quickly. Ooh how i wish 5 months went faster
Well this morning seems to be better. I have learned when I dont have to , to not look at myself so I dont get upset, and when i went to shower this morning it felt a lot better ( when washing ) yay maybe there is hope lol. I noticed one or 2 maybe came out overnight, has anyone had this happen? And also, there seems to be almost like ''plugs'' coming out on my chin/nose. ( sry i know that sounds gross) ..... again, anyone have this before???
Also, I was just wondering if anyone knows if Accutane helps get rid of marks from acne over time.....I have some ( just discoloration ) on my cheeks mostly. and the last time i had this kind of breakout/spots i went tanning and put spf on the spots until my face was the same color...lol i know thats not healthy, but i was desparate!! so, anyone know if it will help fade them, or is there something to use to help them fade quicker?? they bug me about as my as the acne itself!
Not much new! No dry lips at allll, skin is less oilier than normal which is nice, and 90% of the pimples i had ( from initial breakout...at least i think/hope it was) and from before seem to have come to a head(?) and are all drying up and going away mostly. If only they didnt leave lovely little reminders they had been there. ( spots kinda of ) I have heard aloe vera can be good to speed along discoloration, anyone know of this?
my appt was alright.. they upped my dose from 20 to 30.. but the price increased a lot.. however, they didnt do any blood test, the test will only be on december..
the 'plugs' on ur face will fall out soon,bear with it and dont touch it.. =)
not much new itchy, dry pimples from initial breakout. i hope this means they will go away in the next few days. to be honest i have not looked at myself up close in about 5 days. lol im just afraid no dry lips, im worried my dose may not be high enough ( 40 mg right now, im 118 lbs) but maybe i just have moist lips. Also, i had been using cetaphil gentle wash and my mom went to buy it again and bought cetaphil daily facial cleanser...it smells nice, but is this one not as good for the skin?
well, ill continue to update, let me know how everyone is doing!
everythings going pretty well! its the first '' good '' day in awhile. The acne i had in my chin/mouth area has seemed to dry up nicely, not red or anything. I have one larger ... not cyst....but just infected under the side of my mouth that seems like it will go away soon. As for the rest of my face...my cheeks were the other part of my problem...and those too seem better, with about 3 on my right side drying up and one active and 2 drying on the left. My ''new'' problem from what i assume was the initial breakout was along/right under my jaw and things that i would call '' plugs'' coming out. The jaw/under jaw pimples seem to be drying out pretty well and but those darn clogged pores coming out are still there....more noticable when i wash bc you can deff. feel those.
I'm glad things are improving for you already! Your journal has been encouraging so far, I go to the derm tomorrow and I am still so scared of Accutane by I am going to accept it this time. I just hope my initial breakout is early on too, I have a concert to go to at the end of November and I can only hope my skin wont be half as bad as it is right now. And with the holidays approaching, I would like to be able to face family and friends without embarrassment.
Good luck at your appt. and with starting! So far i am really glad i started it....minus the initial breakout, i love it so far. And its only day 14! I just look forward to the end....because i hear so many ppl that start with horrible skin and walk away with healthy, clear skin! After all we go through....i can't wait! Also, i am glad my journal is encouraging, my derm told me to do one so i could look back in the end, and also share my experience.
well 2 weeks down. lol i guess i hoped i would be farther along for some reason....but i have to realize its only been half of a month. *sigh* so far :
- no dry lips....weird? most ppl i see on accutane have painfully dry lips by now...mine are same as ever. lol maybe i wear too much lip stuff.
- skin is a little less oilier....not very much, but deff. not instant oil after i take a shower like i used to be
- breakouts : old ones seem to have mostly dried up/gone away
: initial breakout somewhat still there....a few on my upper cheeks....and a few on my chin/jaw line...otherwise mostly clogged pores coming out i never knew i had so many.....they are so annoying!!!! and seem to be everywhere
- hair....same as ever lol. using jasons biotin to prevent anything, so far so good!
hope everyones treatment is going well! ill keep updating
i dont know why.. may be cuz its amnesteem but they only thing tht is dry are my lips.. i mean hopefully its a good effect but im kinda worried tht ther isnt any dring or anything like tht usualy it happens but i hope it wont happen to me i look bad enuff already. but yea good luck with accutane.
I'll give a background of my situation. My acne ( only on the face) started in 6th grade when it was just puberty and all that fun stuff of being a girl. I had perfect skin in 10th and 11th grade before the end of high school when it was HORRIBLE!! It was all of the sudden...and it realllllly affected my emotions....im sure some of you can understand!! 
We'll I have been on every oral antibiotic and pretty much every topical...with no help really in the long run. I have done ClearLight ( dont do it , its a waste of $!! ) and smoothbeam...which i LOVED and made my skin wonderful again for about 8 months then right when i go back to college BAM its all back with a force. It's so hard to be what seems the only one on campus with a problem. 
Soooo I was put on accutane, and hope this works for good!!! So far I dont have chapped lips, my skin is a little dryer but still is oily, which is gross because its like half and half, and i swear i have pimples all equaly over my chin and cheeks now( it was mostly around the smile line area and chin/jaw before) . Mostly they are like smaller dry yet still there type that you want to get rid of but you can because ive read on here popping anything on accutane is much much worse! By the way it started ( my skin was nearly perfect until about 1 1/2 months ago ) when i started taking Ortho Tri-Cyclen LO , then my skin became horrible again! My dr switched me to just Otho Tri Cyclen and am half way done with my 1st month with that ... for a total of 1 1/2 months on BC.....so i have a feeling the birth control may have triggered the acne again, and know that it takes 2-3 months to regulate and adjust so i hope that happens soon! any girls have this problem with birth control?? 
itchy, dry pimples from initial breakout. i hope this means they will go away in the next few days. to be honest i have not looked at myself up close in about 5 days. lol im just afraid 
